Amsterdam 1652: The Hands of the City

Synopsis

Amsterdam, 1652. When the old Town Hall goes up in flames, the paths of a whaler, a printer, and a newly freed Black craftswoman cross. In the ashes of that one night, they not only see how a city rebuilds itself, but also see their own future in a new light. On this day, you meet them. Cornelis, a whaler stranded ashore with an injured leg, feels the sea slipping through his fingers. Marie, a printer, navigates between Amsterdam’s fickle censorship and the freedom of the press. Esperança, a newly freed Black craftswoman, mixes the pigments that bring the world to life on paper — and finally senses a future of her own making. Meet all three of them and get a taste for how their daily life weaves through the city. One of them will take you to a spectacular view of the city. But the perspective and their personal story depends on your choice. Who will you join? Amsterdam 1652: The Hands of the City is an intimate, cinematic VR experience: history lived through the eyes of those who built the city with their own hands.

Statement

Amsterdam 1652 invites you to discover the epic in the tiny details of daily life in 17th century Amsterdam. We still feel and study the legacy of this period today, the good and the bad. We wanted to bring you close to the hands that touched the city like we still do today, and to use VR to let visitors experience the past through the eyes of ordinary people, discovering a city as they would have experienced rather than as history remembers it. We brought this together in a fictional story grounded in the newest historical research.

More online

• Amsterdam 1652: experience page · ENTR

Credits

Director

Nienke Huitenga-Broeren, Vincent Slangen

Production

ENTR (Vincent Slangen, Alan Luring, Paul van der Meer), Digital Rise (François Klein, Thomas Villepoux), Backlight (Jonathan Tamene, Frédéric Lecompte), Arcades Audio in Game, Studio QKLQ, Persona 3D

Running Time

37'

Language

Dutch

Country

The Netherlands, France

Main Cast

David Gasman, Tiffany Hofstetter, Margaux Lampley, Chloe Hollings, Ryan Highley

Screenplay

Nienke Huitenga Broeren

Music

Joshua Dutrieux

Sound

Arcades & Studio QKLQ

Art director

Julien Papin

Lead developer

BackLight